Friday, December 11, 2009

I am a head case!

Hi! My name is Beth. I'm a new mom and I have a problem. I'm not really one that stresses too much about things. In fact, you might even say I'm a pretty cool headed lady. People at work used to always comment on how calm I was in stressful situations. Well that calm person has left the building.
Case in point. Kelsie Nelson's arrival to this world.
First stress. Baby freaking out every night for hours when we first got home from the hospital. We figured out she was still hungry and we were not feeding her enough, so we started giving her a bottle at night.
Second stress. Baby hadn't pooped in 3 days. She had a blowout the next day.
Third stress. Milk did not come in until almost the 5th day. Jami told me to relax, take a hot bath and start pumping.
Fourth stress. At two week appointment, baby's weight was 9 lbs 8 oz. Under her birth weight. Started eating a grain called Quinoa to help milk production.
Fifth stress. Baby acne or is it a rash? Had to call doc to make sure.
Sixth stress. Baby spits up more often and does this gagging thing. Reflux? Made an appointment today just to make sure and check her weight again.
Not to worry everyone. Kelsie is back up to 10 lbs 2 oz. That means she gained 10 oz in a week. Wahoo! I was so freaking excited and the doc was not worried that she had reflux because of her weight gain and sleeping habits. He said that most babies have some reflux. Now I can start thinking of something else to stress about. Sounds like a plan.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

2nd Week and Some Pics For Heather

Here are some pics of our 2 week old. Hope you like them.







Notice her Spock Live Long and Prosper Sign


Saturday, November 28, 2009

Kelsie's Birth Day (Warning! Super long post!)

This is what I woke up to one morning this week. They are both on their sides with their arms across their bodies. Hilarious. And Kelsie was squishing into my space of the bed just like her dad does.

It has been an insanely crazy week. Time just flies by when your doing nothing but breast feeding! Everyone tells you how much 'your life changes', 'you better get your sleep now', 'girls are the best' and yada yada yada.....but you seriously have no clue what it's like until it happens to you. I remember leaving the hospital and thinking 'They are letting me take this baby home and I have no idea what I am doing. Are they freaking crazy?' Oh and 'My bum is killing me in this car. Get me home quick.'

Let's back track to Friday night. Chad and I left for New Moon at 3:30 in Ogden. I had been having random contractions all day but nothing alarming or consistent. While watching New Moon, I was having them more often. (Which may tell you how good a movie it is!:P) Chad starting tracking them when we got out and they were coming every 10 minutes. Woke up at about 11:30 and they were 6-7 minutes apart. Finally at 4:30 they were 5 minutes apart and we decided to go the hospital. I was at 6 and feelin' fine.

We walked the hallways, sat on the labor ball, did some squats, ate some food, drank some water and was checked again 3 hours later. Still at a 6. The on-call doc wanted to break my water or start me on low dose pitocin which I wanted nothing to do with. We asked for another hour and got it. My doc was called and told my nurse I can do whatever I want and I can tell her when I want my next exam. I love my doc.

By about noon, it had been about 6 hours since I had entered the hospital and I had them check me again. Still a freaking six. I told Chad that if I was the same at the next check then we would brake my water. So I did and that's when labor all started to change. My contractions were harder and more painful. I was getting really annoyed with having to be put on the monitor where I couldn't really move to get comfortable. Granted I know they have to cover their butts but I can definitely see the annoyance for someone wanting to have an unmedicated birth.

I hit 9 a little while later and was starting to feel the need to push. It is so excruciating to have this need and be told not to push. Seriously, it's is like telling someone who's been holding their full bladder for hours....DON'T PEE! Chad was doing all he could to comfort me but I was telling him to stop touching me! I also had flashes of all the friends and family members blogs that recently had kids (who had epidurals) and how calm/peaceful they looked. What was I doing?

Finally, I was at a 10!!! Wahoo I can push. Yeah right. Really. You want to push but then when you have to push like a millions times for an hour you just want to die! And if any of you know of the 'ring of fire', then you know that the explanation of it does not do it any justice. It should be 'the ring of incomprehensible pain', or 'the ring of you want to shoot yourself it hurts so bad', or 'the ring of why the hell didn't I get an epidural'. I could go on and on.

She was born at 3:44 in the afternoon. Weighing in at a very healthy 10lbs 3oz, stretching 21 inches long and with a head circumference of 36 cm. What the?


It's been a really hard week. But I feel the blessings and stresses of motherhood all around me. From the moment she came, I knew I would love her and worry about her constantly. I've never prayed so much in one week in my whole life. I've never loved Chad so much either. He has been a huge rock and has let me cry to him all the time. Each night when going to bed, I think about how I seriously could not love him more.


Please no more pictures! She raised her hand up like this right before I was going to take the picture. I felt like the paparazzi.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Ten Days to GO!

That's right. 10 days, 11 hours, 33 minutes, 24..23....22...seconds to go. But who's counting really. People kept telling me the last month is the worst and then when I was into the last month they told me the last two weeks are the worst. I would always think "How could this possible get any worse in just the last two weeks?" HAHAHAHA. Oh how naive am I. On the two week countdown I was instantly having more contractions at night that were more painful, waking up pretty much every 1-2 hours and driving in my car started to become increasingly uncomfortable. Are you freaking kidding me? Today at my doc appointment this is what I found out:

-Dilated to a 4

-70-80% effaced

-Baby is most likely at -1 station

-I've always measured bigger than my due date. (I think I could have guessed that one!)

-Heather is psychic. She always texts me the day I go to the doc.

-I could have this baby any day. I think today would be a good 'any day'.

-I already told the baby if she is late, she is grounded so maybe she's taking me seriously.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Halloween Costume

The decision to wear a Halloween costume this year came a few months ago when I saw this t-shirt being sold on KSL by a lady making them in Provo. I laughed hard when I happened upon it and so I ordered one.

Little did I know what a commotion I would stir up. I wore it to work on Friday because I wasn't working on Halloween and immediately was a hit. All the nurses loved it. Then when I started walking the hallways patients and their families were commenting on it. I was a celebrity!:) To top it all off I had four, that's right four people take a picture of me. Our unit secretary, one of the social workers, an nurse practitioner and trauma doc all took a picture.

Later on that night, me, Chad, my sister Kelli and Nate her husband went out to McGrath's for dinner at the gateway. I continued to wear the shirt and still had many people point and laugh at it. Even in the restaurant people commented on how they loved it. After dinner we went to a Halloween movie (Macfisto) that Kelli's friends make every year. It was at the Rose Wagner theater in downtown SLC. So of course they have a costume contest and I was very much coerced to even enter. We're in this huge packed theater and I have to make my way all the way down to the stage. No freaking way. I've had quite enough attention for the day. They go through all the contestants and I get sent up on stage first. After a few more contestants go up, the crowd cheers for the winner. Guess who one? Yep me! I was completely embarrassed the whole time. But very proud that my baby bump got me a prize! Woot! Woot! Kelsie will be so proud one day. When we were leaving (waiting for Kelli to stop her social butterflying), a worker at the theater asked me if he could take a picture. He loved it but thought it was creepy! So if you see my picture floating around the Internet you know why!

The infamous t-shirt!
My loot! The box is caramels from V Chocolates!
The t-shirt has the star of the movie Macfisto in the left hand corner!


Happy Halloween everyone!

Monday, October 26, 2009

That's right another post! What? I'm a little bored.

This is the nursery. We are not totally done with it yet. It took us forever to find a crib set because we can never agree on furniture. I was trying to stay away from dark wood. If you've been to our house it's all over the place. But they didn't have this set in vintage white anymore so I relented. Plus we got the converter kit so someone can take the whole thing to college someday. And if they don't they can buy their own bed!!! Take that. I thought maybe it would be a better fit in a apartment than vintage white. Below you will see the frames I painted and then put paper/paper flowers/brads in them. Really easy. Let's just say Wood Connections is probably my favorite store right now.

The changing table.


And the crib. We want to put a big rug down in the center of the room and then a really comfy chair where our dining chair is in this picture. I also painted the "K" on the crib and then put glitter all over it.

Hope you like it.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Fine....I'll post something...Megan says I only post when you know what freezes over!

A pregnancy update that is a long time coming....
  • 35 weeks prego (5 weeks to go, what! what!)

  • Have reflux pretty much all the time, not heart burn, just extra gastric juices coming back up which is as lovely as it sounds. Zantac you are my friend!

  • Feet and hands swell on occasion, but not since I've been lying in my sick/death couch for the last few days. Thank you H1N1.

  • Gained quite a bit of weight. You can call me and ask me but I'm not publishing that info over the internet. Less than Jami's first child and more than Kelli's first. I seem to always be in the middle.

  • Sleeping is of course so freaking awesome.

  • KELSIE, that's right, KELSIE, does somersaults and probably a few back hand springs in my belly so I'm pretty sure she'll be a gymnast.

  • I'm super ornery. No patience for anyone.

  • I can't eat as much, which is weird 'cause I've been stuffing my face for months now.

  • I've had two showers. One was my friend shower which Lacey and her mom did for me. The other was my family shower which my mom and Kelli threw. Thanks to all of you and to everyone that got Kelsie a present.

  • Don't get me wrong. I do think pregnancy is amazing. It's a little crazy to think about a little human being that's growing inside me, that will eventually come out. Weirder.
And for those of you who've been asking for a picture of my belly here it is:)

Naked belly.

Clothed belly.

SUCKERS!